Vending-machine



F. W. STICE. VENDIN-G MACHINE APPLICATION FILED IuIIE Ie. 1919.

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VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16.1919.

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IofL 6 lllNlT@ FRED W. STICE, OF EAGLE GROVE, IOWA.

VENDING-MACHINE.

retener.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 29, 1921.

if 10 all whom t may concern Be it known that l, Finn) W. Sinon, a citizen oi the United States, residing at Eagle Grove, in the county of Wright and State of iowa, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Vendingdvlachilies, of which the following is a speciiication.

lily invention is a machine for automatically selling` post cards and has for its object the provision of a machine rwhich will be simple in the construction and arrangement of its parts and easily operated by any person desiring a post card after the insertion oi' a proper coin. A further object of the invention is to provide novel and simple means tor ejecting a single post card after a. coin has been deposited,` and a still further object of the invention is to provide simple means for permitting the ejector to return to normal position without disturb ing the post cares. A still further object of the invention is to provide a simple and novel construction and arrangement oi parts whereby the withdrawal of a post card without the insertion of a coin will be prevented.

T he invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings and will be hereinafter fully described, the novel features being subsequently particularly pointed out in the claim.

ln the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a vending machine embodying my invention, the parts being shown in the retracted or normal position;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the ejector drawn forward so as to project a card through the casing;

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken in the plane of the coin tube;

Fig. a is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line i-t of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the gage plate or bar which is employed to prevent the withdrawal of more than one card at a time;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the ejector slide, a part of the plunger being shown in dotted lines.

ln carrying out my invention, I employ a housing or casing consisting oi a base plate 1 and vertical side and end walls 2 connected by a top plate 3, the top plate being formed with a suitable opening to permit the placing oin cards within the housing` and a cover 4 being provided to close the said opening, as will be readily understood. ln the base plate near the forward end of the same, l provide a discharge opening 5, through which the coins may drop into the coin box, it being understood that the base plate will be Secured upon a table or pedestal or other fixed support, and a coin box or other suitable receptacle will be provided below the discharge opening 5 to collect the coins. Upon the base plate within the housing, l secure a guide trame 6 consisting of side bars arranged in parallelism and having their rear ends connected by a cross bar or stop 7. in the opposed inner faces of the side bars 6, l provide channels 8 which' will receive longitudinal ribs or'tongues 9 upon the side edges ot' the ejector slide 10, the said slide being thereby mounted upon the base for reciprocatory movement and being held to the base by the engagement of the said ribs and channels, the inward or rearward movement of the slide being limited by the contact of its rear end with the stop 7, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. in the front end ot the slide 10, l provide a central longitudinal notch or open-ended slot 11, and between the terminals of the said slot or notch, l provide the transverse slot or notch l2 which intersects the said slot 11 and will normally register with the inner end of the coin tube 13 which is secured within the housing and has its upper end coincident with a coin slot 14 formed in one side wall of the housing. The intermediate portion of the coin tube is held against lateral movement by a bracket 15 secured to the tube and upon the upper side et the adjacent side bar 6,' so that the inner end of the tube will always be in the plane occupied by the transverse notches or slots 12 when the ejector slide is retracted. Upon one of theyside bars 6, l provide a longitudinal open frame or guide-way 16 and through the said open frame or guide-way projects a lateral arm or extension 1'? projecting from one side of the plunger 18, the said plunger being equipped with a handle bar or pull rod 19 extending through the front side of the casing and fitting closely in the opening 20 provided therefor. rlhe lateral guide arm 1'? and the guide trame 16 are constructed with interengaging tongues and grooves, as indicated at 21, so that the plunger may reciprocate freely and will be caused to move in a rectilinear path. The plunger is normally vheld retracted by a spring 22 having its rear end secured in any convenient manner within the housing, as, for instance, ,to a pin 23 at the rear end of the base plate 1 and having its front end secured to the rear side of the lateralfguide arm y17, as shown most clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. The main body of the plunger is disposed in the central longitudinal plane of the housing and at its lower end is constructed with a tongue 24: disposed within the slot 11 so as to play freely therein. and normally bearing against the rear cnd wall of `said slot under the Vinfluence of the spring 22, so that the ejector slide will be normally held in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the transverse notches or slot 12 in rear of the coin discharge opening and in the plane of the coin tube. rlhe plunger is also constructed with a coin receiving recess or seat 25 in one side immediately in advance of the said .tongue 24 so that when a coin is deposited 'in the com tube, it will gravitate through the said tube and will enter the recess or seat 25, resting upon the base plate l and within the notches l2. 1f the plunger be i then drawn forward, the coin will be held firmly against the front walls of the notches 12 by the force exerted through the tongue 2st against the rear side of the coin, so that the ejector slide will be drawn forward. If. however, the plunger be drawn forward without a coin being inserted, the tongue 2d will merely ride forward through the slot ll without imparting movement to the ejector slide and, therefore,'no card will be delivered. As soon as the end of the card has been. projected through the delivery opening 26 in the front wall of the casing, as shown in Fig. 2, the hold upon the plunger will. be released, whereupon the spring 22 vwill contract and withdraw the plunger so that its tongue 2li will bear against the rear end wall of the slot l1 and release the coin, which will then drop through the discharge opening 5 to the coin box. v

The cards, indicated at 2?, are supported within a frame consisting of front and rear standards 28 and cleats 29 secured to and extending between said standards at the sides of the same. The standards are connected at their upper ends by cross bars 30 and to the rear standards I secure a plate 31 which constitutes a back rest and gage for the cards so that they may be piled evenly within the frame, as will be readily understood. A weight or follower 32 is placed upon the pile of cards so that they will be caused to positively gravitate to the cleats 29 as the lowermost 'cards are successively withdrawn. As shown most clearly in Fig. 3, the cards rest at their side edges upon the cleats 29 and are uncovered between the said cleats so that the ejector Vfingers 33 arranged below the cards may readily engage the bottom card and project the same as the ejector slidev 10 is drawn forward. TheI fingers 33 are curved upon their rear edges, as shown at 34, and their points 35 project slightly forward so that when the lingers are extending upwardly, the pointswill readily take into the Vunder side of the bottom card and cause the same to move forward with the slide and ejector. The lingers 33 are carried by a plate 36 hinged to the upperside of the ejector slide fingers 33 will be held in engagement with v the bottom cardV by the pin or rest 38, .so that the card will be caused to move forward with the lingers and slide. Upon the rearward movement of the ejector, however, the curved edges 34: of the fingers will be in engagement with thebottom card and will cause the iingers to swing forwardly against the tension lof the spring 37 so that the ejector will have no effect `upon the' cards during ment. Y

1t is intended that care shall `be observed in placing a stock of cards in the machine so that all the cards inthe pile will be of the same thickness, and, across the front end of the card supporting frame, I provide a gage plate or bar 39;` which is secured at its vends to the front standards 28. lThis gageV plate or bar, as shown most V clearly in Fig. 5, is provided at its ends with slots 110 through which Vsecuring bolts or screws il are inserted into thev standards, the slots permitting a limited vertical adjustment of the gage. plate'so lthat it may be Set according to .the thickness of the cards placed inthe machine and will permit only. oney cardat a time to be delivered, all the cards except thebottom one .being held against withdrawal by the plate, while the bottom card'will be permitted to pass under the lower edge of `the plate and through the vdelivery .opening 26. As. each card is withdrawn, theV weight ofthe remaining cards and the follower 32 .will cause the cards to descend so that the lowermost of the remaining cards will be in position toA be engaged by the. ejector fingers.

.From the .foregoing` description, taken ,in connection with the accompanying draw ings, it will be readily understoodthat 1 its inward or rearward `movehave provided an exceedingly ksimple machine whereby persons desiring post cards may obtain the same without the services of a salesman, a single post card being delivered with certainty and rapidity after a coin has been inserted in the machine and no card being delivered unless a coin is inserted. After a card has been withdrawn, the mechanism automatically and immediately returns to normal position so that a second card may be delivered upon the nsertion of a second coin. The parts are compactly arranged so that the machine will occupy but little space and, owing to its simplicity of construction, it may be produced at a slight cost and will not be apt to get out of order.

A coin is shown in position at l2 in Fig'. 2.

lt will, of Course, be understood that the machine may be used for the sale of postale, stamped or unstamped post cards, or other forms of cards.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

ln a vending machine, the combination of a support for stock to be vended, a slide mounted for reciprocation under stock on said support, a plunger in advance of the slide and normally free thereof but operable to actuate the slide upon the insertion of a coin, yieldable means for holding the slide and the plunger normally retracted, an ejector plate hinged at its lower edge t0 the upper surface of the slide, fingers projecting upwardly and forwardly from the ejector plate and having tapered ends to engage the bottom unit of the stock upon the forward movement of the slide and having their rear edges curved to ride under the stock on a rearward movement of the slide, a stop rising from the slide in rear of the ejector plate to be engaged by said plate and support the same upon the forward movement of slide7 and a spring secured to the slide near the rear end thereof and to the ejector plate near the upper edge thereof for normally holding the ejector plate upon the upper end of the said stop and support.

ln testimony whereof l aiiiX my signature.

man w. srion. [L s.) 

